England’s Kevin Pietersen will not play international cricket again (Picture: Reuters)

Andrew Flintoff has blasted his former England colleagues and accused them of turning Kevin Pietersen into an Ashes scapegoat to save their own careers.

The former all-rounder says it he has been aghast by the way English cricket has reacted to the 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia this winter and believes it is wrong to blame one player for the failings of the whole team.

‘It’s not that we couldn’t bowl them out, not that we couldn’t score runs, not that we got outplayed – it’s Kevin Pietersen’s fault,’ Flintoff told the Daily Mail. ‘I’d have more respect for some of the senior players if they held their hands up, rather than letting it all get heaped on one bloke.’

‘Lose 5-0 in Australia and it falls on someone to be the scapegoat. In 2006 it was me. I was captain and I didn’t go about things the right way at times, so I deserved some of it. But not all of it.’
Pietersen has been told that his international career is over but Flintoff says the player deserved more support from the ECB.

‘Sometimes you need help as a player, an arm around you, or someone to back you. Kevin deserved that. It wasn’t just him out there. I’d like someone to start talking about the group again, and not just when it suits.

‘If his attitude was that bad, why did he play five Tests? Who made the decision to drop him? Do they genuinely believe we are better off without him, or are they just fearful for their own jobs and too afraid to say no?

‘I can’t imagine what Kevin could have done, or what the ECB could announce, that would allow this to make sense.’